Method of and apparatus for defeathering fowls



Nov. 20, 1945. s. s. BARKER 2,389,404

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DEFEATHERING FOWLS v Filed Sept 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q BY 56% 5.501/667) Nv. 20, 1945. s, s. BARKER METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DEFEATHERING FOWLS Filed Sept. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. 582/2; 5 fla /k6?" BY A Patented Nov. 20, 1945 PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR DEFEATHERING FOWLS Seth S. Barker, Ottumwa, Iowa Application September 5, 1940, Serial No. 355,415

23 Claims.

It is an object of my invention to provide a process for defeathering fowls, and further, to provide apparatus suitable for carrying out the process.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a process for defeathering fowls whereby the fowls are picked cleanly, and by which they are left in good condition for display or for cold storage- With regard to the apparatus which is the subject of my invention, it is an object to provide means for automatically handling birds by mechanical means, to avoid the expense and uneven results of hand picking methods. It is further an object to provide an apparatus by which the fowls are held against rotary picking means by a current of water, so that the resilience of the water current will serve to hold them in yielding engagement whereby all parts of the fowl are thoroughly picked.

Briefly, the particular structure in which my invention is exemplified in the drawings and description consist of a hot water bath, preferably a semi-scalding bath, in which the fowls are first immersed, and a plurality of picking rotors having flexible or resilient projections, against which the fowls are subsequently moved by an overhead conveyor, together with means for directing a strong current of water onto the birds in such a manner as to hold them against the picking rotors as they pass.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side view partly in vertical section showing a machine embodying my invention and which may be employed for carrying out my process.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 of Figurel.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View taken on the line 44'of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a flexible picking finger.

Figure 6 is, a longitudinal sectional view through the device of Figure 5. p

In the accompanying drawings I have used the reference numeral I0 to indicate generally an elongated tank or similar container. Reference numeral l2 indicates generally an overhead conveyor passing above the tank and provided with shackles M in which chickens or other fowls can be supported in inverted position. The conveyor moves from right to left, as viewed in Figure 1, so that the fowls are drawn up the intake chute l6 and dropped into the tank Hi. In the tank 10 I provide a plurality of jets l8 connected with suitable water supply pipes 20. The jets [8 are supplied with water at high pressure, and the jets are so located that streams of water are directed from them downwardly against the fowl, and by the application of suflicient pressureit is possible to remove the feathers from the'fowl solely by the force of the streams of water. Under certain conditions and with certain birds, removal of feathers by the method and apparatus above described will be satisfactory. I have found, however, that for many practical purposes the results obtained may be improved by combining the use of water pressure with the action of picking rotors consisting of a number of flexible elements or fingers projecting from a rotatable cylinder. r

In the exemplifioation shown in the drawings, a plurality of picking rotors is indicated. The first of these, indicated as 22, rotates on a horizontal shaft 24 extending transversely of the tank It), and consists of a cylindrical drum 26 mounted on the shaft, and carrying a number of radially projecting fingers 2B. These fingers may be made of various materials and invarious ways to accomplish the desired result, depending upon the degree of water pressure which is used, and the treatment which the fowls have received preparatory to being engaged by'the picking rotor. However, it hasv been found that a Practical and 0 efiective picking finger may be made in the form shown in Figures 5 and 6. Soft rubber is a suitable material, and the finger is made in the form of a cylinder cut off by an inclined plane. The plane surface is provided with transverse rib or corrugations 29. In order to save material and add to the flexibility of the finger, it may be made hollow, as shown in the sectional view of Figure 6. Holes 3i may be provided, if desired, so that the suction apparatus described in Swanson Patent No. 1,889,228, November 29, 1932, can be used. This is optional, however, and not material to the present purpose.

The transverse ribs give a gripping efiect which pulls feathers efiiciently, and the plane surface, extending the full width of the finger, covers a wide area of the body of the fowl. The tapered shape resulting from the inclined relation of the plane to the axis of the cylinder causes the finger to bend evenly along its length to conform to the surface, as the finger passes over the body of r the fowl. A finger of uniform cyLndrical shape, for example, is likely to buckle at some mid point along its length when it strikes the fowl, and thus not conform closely to the body of the fowl.

into a. entral 1c ambe not. shown inthefirawings. jBy-fmeansfof D In mounting the flexible fingers on the drum it is advisable to arrange them in spiral relation, as seen in Figure 2, so that when the fowl 30 comes in contact with the moving fingers 23, as in Figure 1, the spiral action of the fingers will tend, like a screw, to rotate the fowl and cause all sides of it to be engaged by the picking fingers as the fowl passes over the drum. A swivel 1-32 isrrovided in connectionvwitheach shackle 44 so that the-shackle supporting chain or cord 34 will not be twisted. V In the drawings, for simplicity, only part of the picking fingers on the rotors are shown, two

typical spiral rows being shown in the elevati oriial views of the rotors in Figures 2 and 3. In actual practice, of course, the entire length of the rotors is occupied with similar rows Qf; picking fingers, as indicated by the dot and dash lines in the drawings.

It will be seen in;Fig ure 1 that the streaml of wa er. item the t, phqlds thef wl .3? against the. picking rotonfl; The rotorj ns in he direction indicatedby. the arrow, thus keeping the cordv 3,4 ,tight as the iowlisv drawn, over the rotorw'lhe combination ,ofgthe force of water from theljet Brand the strippingaction of the fingers 2,8 onmthejpicking rotorl cleans the feathers, from the fowl Inadditiohtqthe rotor 22Iit may sometimes be advisable-t'oprovide verticalrotors such as '36. and 3.8. Theser'otors'are of sufiicient length in avertical direction ls ohthat they can engage allLparts of .,,th'e,,fowl, and they. are preferably driven, as=indicatedQby thearrow's in Figure 2,

in suchdirections that the fowl is r apidlyl rotated on the swivel 32 when it passes between the rotors, thus ,all; sideslalon the whole length for the fowl willzbehengagedg by the fingers of the rotors. .11.1 some eases itmay 1; 'sirableto provide morethan one horiaoiitalrotdr jthe riotolfsbeina 130? F The fowlsiafter ,they arec irayvn hpthe passed throughlthc water bathlfor a periodwhich central chamber 44. The result is a strong clown ward current of water in the central chamber 44. The lay of the feathers on a fowl is toward the tail and it will thus be seen that when the fowls are supported in the central chamber by their feet, the water current described will be in a direction against the lay of the feathers, so that water will penetrate fully into all parts of the ffeathers to the skinof the fowl. 2 I

When the fowls reach the picking rotors, the downward current of Water described tends to hold them down against the horizontal rotors 22 and 49 as they are dragged across by the conveyor. ,lll the case of the vertical rotors 36 and 38, the downward current serves to keep the fowl submerged-, thus overcomin any tendency which the fo-wl might have to rise to the surface and ageldispla n an- .All rth ia y n aeelies v H l. fili g. F merelle vsemi-scald .method thistemperature will be about may be controlledbyle ulatingithe speed of the qnr ra te ethe e-e a ed the eto and by the high velocity streams of water from the-jets r a I prefer atherir i ime mer te,

passageways which are peller 4 8 water is dra n, from the centralfc amhe scaldbers overflows the inner walls 42 to return 'tothe the a t' at he-Water v fiiei s e pi k rotor clean o wf the jsl an th ves. a, my practi p o mt ea lie sjs non feathers W thou uch i en sqtwb ntheret r, of ve P becomes covered with afdhering feathers, its fificiency for picking more feathers is seriously impaired yfhere circulati figvwater system is used, the 'f.athers, ,are uickly removed from the vicinity of the rotors, 'and can be strained from the circulating stream by any suitable means, fi wih i'n hQ i i fiw a T e i ul tin Water a r ll i d' P form I another. function which increasesv the thoroughness o f l picking h InFigure 1 is showman upwardly projectingportionifi'jof one of theinner wens 42, beingthe'inh an at theiright inlffigure, ,4 ,The portion 54 vesf as a dam or stop 7. n I l t fcic t water from flowing". over .it'a'tthat fplac'et. .l'llie corr'espondingpo ition of the opposite inner Wall "t n i Figure 4) has,a sim a J buti fi-Q t i 3 mfi n bit e ofthe. fowls, .The ap oxima'te 'relativelposition .or at .withgrespectfto5f4f islshown in'rfigur ji,

where the "outline'of the'projectiontfi isin'dicated by dottedjines I 7 As, .a resultlof telocation" f the fdalhsijdescribed, a fowl j'u'st 'mov'iiigjihto. contactiwith the rotor 22 (aslin lfiguregl Qwsub jectto acjurrent of water coming Iarg'el Qfrqin thefleft side (as seeniinlli'igure f1), .VPAYS thefowl is, .drfagged by the conveyor toward the top'of'the rotating .gdrum, the predominance of the current changes from the left side to the r ght side; There.results an oscillating or s: gingmovment of the fo'wl about its, fieXible su port which "causes. itjto 'roll Ion the 'drum,'andl so to expose 'va'r'ious' "portions to' contact witht'hej pickiiig fingers. V

l L A similar arrangement can "be pr Iv'ided onthe walls 52 fin the vicin ty of the other rotors, t v

The size. of the proi'ctihgportions, and their r la n to eachlom t f i bgi r i r mt particulariarrangeinentfandproportion shownfin thefdrawiiigs, The particular structural details jaref'fnot soiiriportant, 'howevenl'asthe result 'pro- 'duced, the alternation in the transverse clirection of thecurrent of water to which the fowl issubjected as it moves along. The purpose of this alternation, of course, is to secure efiicient, clean picking by moving the fowl from side to side, and by thus rolling it on the picking rotor.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangementofthe parts of mydevice without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it will be understood that the apparatus shown and described constitutes only one of a number of possible means of carrying out the process of my invention. It is my intention, however, to cover by my claims any variant modes of procedure and any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may reasonably be included within their scope. 1

I claim as my invention: I g

1. Apparatus for defeathering fowls consisting of a tank, a conveyor over said tank, means for supporting fowls from said conveyor in inverted position, andwater jets in said tank for directing streams of water at high velocity onto fowls therein, for removing feathers from said fowls.

2. Apparatus for handling fowls consisting of a conveyor, means for supporting fowls thereon, water jets in the path of said conveyorfor directing streams of water at high velocity onto said fowls to partly remove the feathers therefrom, and a picking rotor in the path of said conveyor, the fowls being moved against said rotor by said conveyor for further. removal of the feathers from said fowls.

3. In a poultry handling machine, means for directing a stream of water at high velocity against a fowl for partly removing feathers from the fowl, a picking rotor, and means for moving said fowl against said rotor for further removal of feathers, said means for directing a stream of water being adapted to cause said stream of water to press said fowl against said rotor.

4. A method of defeathering fowls consisting of movin the fowl across a rotating drum having projections thereon, and simultaneously directing a current of water against the fowl to hold it in engagement with the projections on the rotating drum.

5. A method of defeathering fowls consisting of hanging the fowl neck down, immersing it in a semi-scalding bath, and moving it against a picking cylinder, the fowl being subjected simultaneously to a current of water which maintains it in engagement with the picking cylinder.

6. A method of picking fowls consisting of supporting them neck down, moving them horizontally through a downwardly directed current of hot water, and moving them against a plurality of rotating pickers, the downwardly directed current of water against the fowls being continued meanwhile to keep them submerge and in contact with said pickers.

'7. In apparatus for handlin fowls, a moving conveyor, means for suspending a fowl from said conveyor, a tank, a, rotary picking cylinder in said tank, the fowl when so suspended being drawn by said conveyor through said tank and against said cylinder, and means for circulating water in said tank to direct a strong downward current of water on the fowl to retain it submerged while against said cylinder.

8. In apparatus for handling fowls, a horizontally moving conveyor, means for suspending a fowl from said conveyor, a tank containing hot water, and a plurality of rotary picking cylinders rotating on horizontal axes at right angles to the direction of movement of said conveyor, the fowl being drawn by said conveyor through said tank and against said cylinders.

9. In a machine for defeathering fowls, means for moving a suspended bird in a horizontal direction,-a picking drum rotatably mounted on an axis at right angles to the direction of movement of the bird, and means for directing a, current; of water on said bird to hold it against said drum while said drum is rotated.

10. In a machine for defeathering fowls, means for moving a suspended bird in a horizontal direction, a plurality of picking rotors on horizontal axes at right angles to the direction of movement. of the bird, said rotors being at various vertical heights, said means for moving the bird in a horizontal direction being located to move the bird successively against said rotors, and means fordirecting a current. of water on the bird to hold it against said rotors.

11. Apparatus for defeathering fowls consisting of a conveyor on which the fowl is suspended, a water tank through which the fowl is drawn by said conveyor, a pair of picking rotors in the tank, one on each side of the path of movement of the fowl, and means in said tank for circulating a downward current of water against the fowl to keep it submerged while passing between said rotors.

12. In defeathering apparatus, a plurality of horizontally mounted picking rotors, means for drawing a fowl across them, and means for direct ing a current of water against thefowl to hold it in firm engagement with the rotors.

13. In apparatus for handling fowls, a hot water tank, means for drawing a fowl through said tank, means for directing a current of water on said fowls opposite to the lay of their feathers, a horizontal picking rotor, a pair of vertical picking rotors, one on each side of the path of movement of said fowl, and a second horizontal rotor at a different height than the first.

14. The process of defeathering fowls consisting of submerging the fowls in liquid, retaining the fowls submerged by a downward current of the liquid, and removing the feathers by rubbing the body of the fowl with a plurality of flexible rubber fingers having ribs or corrugations on the working surfaces transverse to the line of motion on the body of the fowl.

15. A process of defeathering fowls consisting of submerging the fowls in liquid, and drawing them, while so submerged, into contact with a picking rotor.

16. The method of defeathering fowls consisting of submerging the fowls in liquid, drawing them, while so submerged, into contact with a picking rotor, and subjecting them, as they are drawn across the rotor, to currents in said liquid which have alternate components of motion in directions transverse to the direction in which the fowls are being drawn.

1'7. In apparatus for defeathering fowls, a-tank for containing liquid, defeathering means therein, means for drawing fowls through said tank, inner walls in said tank, means for causing the liquid in said tank to flow over said inner walls into the space between said inner walls, and dams along the upper edges of said inner walls to prevent overfiow along limited portions of said walls, said dams on opposite sides being offset or staggered along said inner walls.

18. In apparatus for handling fowls, a conveyor, a picking rotor mounted in the path of fowls hanging from said conveyor so that the a horizontal pickingroto'r, a 'pai'r of '-vertica1-pioki ng' rotors, one on eaoh side of the path of movement of said fowl, anda sec on'd'horizorital rotor, most of said rotors beingdriyen i-na direction 'such that the surface amen-engages "the 'fowl moves in a direction opposite to that in which the fowl is'adVanced by-said meahs'for drawing the fowl through the tank.

v 20. In apparatus for dfeathering 'foWls, the combination of a "semi-scalding tank, 'picking means consisting of a pliifalityof pickingrotors *'fowls"afe"drawn' across-saidpicking rotor bysaid having fle'xib'l'e projections, and means for difeoti'ng a-strong current of water against 'said -fow1s,opp0si-te'-to the lay of their feathers-While they are 1 in engagement with said rotors.

'21. A method ofdefeathering'fowls whioheonsists in-submergin'g th'e fowls in a water bath, and directin jets of water at high velocity against the fdwls while so's'ubmerged.

225A method of picking 'fow-ls consisting 0f 'siibinefging the fowl in water, and moving "it, while so submerged, into engagement with picking means.

23. In-apparatus for handling poultry, *aimoving-conveyor, means for suspending a fowl therefrom,-'atank containing a liquid, and picker means in said tank,'said conveyor being adapted-"to move the fowl through said tank and into engagement with said picker means while submerged 'in the liquid. 

